Overview
- President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, that apply only to future births and aim to narrow who qualifies for automatic U.S. citizenship.
- One order expands narrow exceptions to the 14th Amendment to include children of certain foreign diplomatic staff, people labeled as “alien enemies,” and members of designated terrorist groups.
- The second order directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to write rules to stop commercial birth tourism by tightening visa screening and targeting organizers and facilitators.
- The White House has not released full order texts and provided few operational details, and legal experts and opponents say the measures are likely to face swift constitutional challenges after the Supreme Court’s June ruling.
- Data on the scale of birth tourism are limited and disputed, estimates range widely, and Congress—not the president—would be required to change citizenship for births in U.S. territories, making that part of the plan politically uncertain.